Family physicians move towards value-based pay, but many fret costs, study finds
But almost 70 percent said they were skeptical value-based payment systems would improve patient care.
One in three family physicians are actively pursuing a move to value-based payment and an additional 19 percent are developing the capabilities for it, a new study sponsored by Humana and conducted by the American Academy of Family Physicians has found. On the other hand, many cite more than a few roadblocks to the switchover.
The 2015 Value-based Payment Study, which surveyed 626 doctors who are members of AAFP, sought to gauge both opinions on value-based payment and progress toward it.
Though many are moving towards value, more than 90 percent of those surveyed said the lack the staff time for implementing such a sweeping change is an obstacle, according to the study.
[Also: CMS lays out strategy, vows to continue to push towards value]
Almost 70 percent said they were skeptical value-based payment systems would improve patient care and almost 60 percent believe it would make more work for doctors with little or no benefit to patients.
As for other roadblocks, 87 percent are wary of the large investments in health information technology that will be required to be successful with value-based payment models. Meanwhile, 61 percent of family physicians are juggling contracts from seven or more health plans making implementation multi-layered and complicated. Finally, one in four doctors surveyed testified to an overall lack of knowledge about their practice's strategy toward value-based payment, and availability in their respective markets.
[Also: Better outcomes, lower costs, with value-based models, Humana says]
"The results of this study tell us that physicians are genuinely concerned about the time needed to transition to value-based payment and want to ensure that their efforts translate to care improvement," said Roy A. Beveridge, MD, Humana's chief medical officer, in a statement. "The healthcare industry would benefit from improving its understanding of physician needs and how they can best alleviate burdens."
The study also laid out what doctors chose as the most important "success factors" for implementing value-based payments: Practice sustainability at 92 percent, clinical outcomes at 91 percent, physician and staff morale at 87 percent, coordination of patient care at 86 percent and cost savings for the practice at 84 percent.
Twitter: @BethJSanborn
